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Hawaiian Airlines announced that it is leasing three Boeing 717s this fall to increase its offering of interisland flights. The carrier also plans to add about 20 interisland flights starting in October. "With our increasing service to Hawaii from Asia, demand for our interisland flights during peak hours of the day and during popular travel periods has never been higher," said Hawaii Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley.

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Delta Air Lines has started flying Boeing 717s purchased from AirTran Airways. Delta repainted and modified the interiors of the 717s, which will replace 50-seat regional jets, which were less fuel efficient. The first re-purposed 717 transported Delta passengers from Atlanta to Newark, N.J., last week.

Southwest Airlines has finalized an agreement to lease or sublease 88 Boeing 717s to Delta Air Lines. Southwest acquired the 717s through its purchase of AirTran Airways, but Southwest exclusively flies 737s. Delta will use the 717s to replace 50-seat regional jets, which are more expensive to fly.

Southwest Airlines sees the role of its Boeing 717s, of which it acquired 88 through its takeover of AirTran, diminishing as the markets the planes serve become less viable. Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told participants at an industry conference that the 717 does not "bring any unique benefit that Southwest cannot get with the 737."

Hawaiian Airlines has debuted the first of four new Boeing 717 aircraft designed for inter-island flights. "The reason why we are doing this is because we want to provide more flights and seats to the customer based in the islands," said CEO Mark Dunkerly at Wednesday's unveiling. By the end of 2008, the airline plans to offer an additional 110 round-trip flights per week.

Midwest Air Group plans to add 11 extra seats to the back cabin of its entire Boeing 717 fleet, hoping to generate extra revenues even as it cuts jobs and grounds planes. Midwest flights will still feature a 2-2 configuration in the front cabin, while narrower seats in the back will allow a 3-2 configuration. The wider seats will still be called "coach class" in order to accommodate corporate policies that don't allow first-class travel.